Saliva ejector



.Y v 1 n 5 5 Y H. FREEDMAN sALIVA EJEcTvo R 'y June 6, 1939.

Filed Jan. 25, 19257 Ill' /NVE/VTOB.

` /QTORNEYS Patented June 6, 1939 PATENT oFFlcE sAL'IvA Emo'roa l Hyman Freeammpmokiyn, N.`Y. y Appucauonranuary 25, 1937, serial No. 122,159

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in de'n-l j ejector through which s a'liva is ejected Vby a suction created in said mouthpiece. Toavold this contingency, which sometimes results in the extraction of the serum of the blood from the tissues of the mouth due to the increase in the vacuum created in the tube by the closure of said open-y ings, it has been the practice heretofore to close the end of the mouthpiece where the patient can most conveniently ,place his tongue to stop the suction,` and to -form openings in the wall of the mouthpiece at .points slightly removed from said end Where theyare intended to be'less accessible to the tongue. However, it has been found that these latter openings are not entirely eiective in the prevention ofstoppage of the suction. ac-

tion and, as a consequence, resort has been had to the formation of -an auxiliary or relief. open- .ing the elbow of the'instrument located outside of the patients mouth and through which air continues'to be drawn into the tube should the saliva openings be closed, thus tending to avoid an increase of vacuum in the tube which might prove `harmful tothe tissues of the mouth. A drawback to such a construction resides in the fact that, with the extremity ofthe mouthpiece permanently closed andv the .salivadis'chargev openings located at a point spaced from said extremity, a vwell or chamber is formed in the end of the mouthpiece-in which sediment will ac/ emulate that is difficult to remove when cleaning the instrument with the usuall wire brush cleaners that are employed for the purposefsince these cleaners can not be passed entirely through the tube.

An, object of the`present invention is to overv come the 'above-noted dlfticulties by providing an improved construction which will effectively pre--4 -ventthe possibility oi' injury to the tissues oi' the mouth and permit of` a thorough cleansing of the instrument. In carrying out said object, the

invention and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, commo'uthpiece is open Aat both extremities so that a cleaner can be readily passed entirelythrough lthe tube and worked back and forth to effectively remove any accumulated sediment, andfurther openings are formed inthe wallof the -tube adjacent the mouth end thereof.

. Another object is to connect the mouthpiece to a meansfor creating suction therein, by a coupling in which two members cooperate to pro-- vide for the admission of atmospheric air into the mouthpiece in the event the various openings inthe mouth endv thereof should all becomeyclosed during use lof the instrument.

A further `object is to provide an improved.

structed in accordance with the Apresent in vention, showing the saine connected to a standard -form of cuspidor appliance.

Figure 2 islan enlarged elevation, partly broken away and shown in section, of an ejector and.

connecting means therefor.

Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

. Figure 4 is a fr'ont elevation of the mouthpiece of the ejector.'

Figure 5 'is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a slightly diierent form of ejector and connecting meanspand -Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Referring particularly to Figure 1, the numeral I0 indicates theusual type of dental cuspidor to which Water is supplied from a pipe II having a valved connection I2 for the controlled discharge of water into the cuspidor I0. For pur-- poses of use with a saliva ejector in order to create a suction and consequent partial vacuum in the usual ilexible tube I3 to which the ejector is connected, the pipe I2 is provided adjacent the point ofA attachment lof the tube I3 therewith, a restricted nozzle I4 which projects the stream of water entering thel pipe I2 across the opening to which the tube I3A'is joined so as to create the desired suction in said tube and thereby extract saliva `from the'mouth when the ejector is in use.

The ejector, iny accordance with the present prises the discharge tube I5, usuallyA made of glass, the intermediate portion of which is bent mouthpiece to the tube I3 mouthpiece is provided with a discharge opening i3 in `substantial alignment with the bore of the tube and so situated as to be conveniently closed by the patients tongue if he seeks to close the saine as is unconsciously done by many patients. This disposition of the opening is contrary to the usual practice in which the extremity of the mouthpiece is closed at this point and the mouth-- piece provided with openings spaced a slight distance from the end where the saliva can still be discharged but where the patient has more diniculty in closingthe, openings with the tongue. However, it has been found that with this usual type of construction the patients-areoften successful in closing these side wall openings notwithstanding their comparative inaccessibility.

To overcome this condition, the present inven= tion proposes the use o f additional openings 20, such as heretofore used, located in opposed relation in the wall of the mouthpiece so as to operate in conjunction with the opening I3. 'The arrangement of said openings i9, 20 is such that should the opening i9 be closed by the tongue, it is virtually impossible forthe patient at the same time to lalso close the opening 20 and thus the suction will at all times kie-maintained..

' r detachably c'onin the form of acoupling consisting of an outer member 2|, which may be of hard rubber and in the-form of a handle by means of which the apparat may be manipulated, and said member is provided with an opening 22 extending therethrough one end of which terminates in an enlarged recess 23. The opposite endof the open-y ingv22 is adapted to receive a rigid tube 24 to which Vthe exible hose i3 may be connected and "ivhich may be withdrawn from the member 2| in disassembling the device. A cylindrical plug v25 of compressible vmaterial has an opening 26 therethrough into which is snugly fitted the adjacent end of the ejector i5 and from which the latter may be withdrawn when itv is desired toY clean the ejector. The plug 25 is slightly larger in diameter than the recess 23 and is provided about its periphery with a series of longitudinal grooves 21 extending the length of the plug and combining with the wall of the recess 23 to form small inlet passages for the admission of atmospheric air into the recess 23 and consequently into -the ejector and its mouthpiece. The material of the plug 25 forming said grooves is compressed when the plug is inserted into therecess 23,y but said grooves' always remain slightly open to admit a certain amount of air into the ejector even when the openings I9, 20 are not closed.

The entrance of air through the grooves under A ordinary operating conditions will have no material eectnpon the amount of suction required to withdraw the saliva from the mouth, but said grooves will afford an adequate relief to prevent an increase in the lvacuum in the ejector should it happen that all three of the openings I3, 20

become closed) with` the result that in the latter v contingency the tissues of the mouth not be injured.

In Figure 5 a .slightly diierent `form of ejector is shown in which the tube 23 may be of metal with its inner end fitted in the plug 25 in the same manner as the tube i6. The outer end of the tube is open to receive the mouthpiece 29 which may be of glass and whichis constructed the same as the mouthpiece I1 and -is slidably mounted within the tube 23 so that the effective length of the mouthpiece may be adjusted whenever desired. l 1

Means are also provided for illuminating the mouth during the use of the ejector andin accordanceywith the present invention this means may take various forms. In Figure 1, a small in candescent lamp 30, such as used with surgical instruments, may be fused on the mouthpiece I1 to form a permanent part thereof and the conductors for the filament of said lamp may be imbedded in the glass of the ejector', tube and led to terminals disposed in the plug 25, in somewhat the manne` illustrated in Figure 5, for connection -to a source 'of current. In Figure y2 the incanremote from the if descent lamp 3l is shown as disposed directly within Vthe ejector tube and located at a convenient position in the mouthpiece l1. The conductors 32 vfor the lamp may be made fairly rigid so as to support the latter in position and said conductors are led through the tube' and into the recess v23 of the member 2| where they are connected to a tapered terminal plug 33 removably disposed in the member 2l so that it can be withdrawn to extract the lamp 3| from the ejector tube whenever desired. Provision is made on the' l plug 33 for connecting the conductors32 to a source of current. In Figure 5, the metal tube 28 is provided along its outer surface with a lgrooved track 3l for receiving /a plate terminal -35 of the incandescent lamp 36 which is movable in said trackway to permit of adjustments of the lamp to various positions. In this construction, the tube 28 forms one of the conductors for the lamp and at its inner end engages a ring contact 31 imbedded in the plug 25. The other conductor 38 of the lamp 36 is extended along the tube and connected to a second ring contact 33 valso imbedded i' n the plug 26 and said contacts 31, 39 are joined by. conductors 40 tov a suitable -source of current.

What is claimed is: v

1.. In a saliva ejector, a discharge tube having a mouthpiece at one end thereof, a guide member extending along said tube and forming an electrical conductor, and a source of light having 4 a terminal engageable with said guide member for adjustment of said source along said tube.

2. In a mounting for a saliva ejector tube, a

`coupling including an outer memberhaving an opening therethrough enlarged at one end to form a recess, and a plug into which an end of said ejector isadapted to be fitted and which is engageable in said recess in spaced relation to y 

